In The Jungle, The Quiet Jungle

It’s a blast every time Jimmy Fallon has a musician on his show and gets them to perform their biggest hits with classroom instruments, but for some artists, a keytar and a tambourine aren’t really going to cut it. Billy Joel and his piano couldn’t fit into the tiny trailer where those classroom instruments are played and recorded, so Fallon changed it up—first recording a rendition of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” using a looping iPad app, then hopping up on Joel’s piano himself to perform “You May Be Right.” Here’s both videos:

Those two videos are perfect evidence of how Fallon is consistently, brilliantly playing with the late-night format. The first is a cheeky and tech-heavy musical moment, made for viral success and tweets like this one —as he begins a monthly residency at Madison Square Garden, Joel couldn’t hope for a better way to convince young people to buy tickets. The second performance, much more straightforward, is a bit of comfort for older late-night viewers who don’t want to see the format change too much. But it’s also really fun. Fallon doesn’t have to make Billy Joel cool, and it would look really awkward if he tried. He’s just reminding you how great it can be to embrace square music that you love.